Playing With Fire
by Iknowyoulovemexoxo
Summary: Two strangers hook up in a club on a night out and then go their separate ways. This is where the story ends for most people but for Paul and Stephanie it is just the beginning of their story.
1. Chapter 1

I don't know why I am starting another new story but I am so I hope you will like it. This is part 1 of the opening to the story, it was too long as a single chapter so I had to split it in two. If there is sufficient interest I will get part two posted next week.

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><p>Having spent most of her summer either packing boxes or unpacking boxes Stephanie was ready to cut loose and maybe meet some new people too so tonight she was going out to a club and was going to forget everything and enjoy herself.<p>

Getting out of the shower she immediately went to her closet and searched through her dresses looking for the right dress for her evening out and smiled when she saw it immediately grabbing it and walking back over to her bed throwing it on top before she pulled some lingerie out of the drawers and began to get dressed.

As the bottom of the dress hit her thighs as she pulled it on she looked at herself in the mirror smiling at what she saw and doing a little twirl, it showed off her legs just enough without it being too short and slutty. If she was going to get out of the house tonight she was going to have cover up a bit further though so she got some leggings out of drawer where she had neatly folded them up and pulled those on so her parents wouldn't pitch a fit and then she would take them off as soon as she had left and was out of sight.

Once her clothes were right she sat down to do her hair and make-up before she went to her closet to find some shoes to match her outfit setting on a pair of ankle boots that had a stud detailing around the top and looked quite sexy.

Giving herself one more once over in the mirror she was satisfied with how she looked so turned and grabbed her bag from the top checking she had money before she put the strap over her shoulder and picked up her phone walking out of the room as she sent her best friend a quick text:

_I'm on my way out for the night but we should catch up tomorrow._

As she reached the bottom of the stairs she slipped her phone into her bag and resisted rolling her eyes seeing her Mom stood there, "where do you think you are going young lady?"

"Out. You dragged me here at a time in my life where stability is key so I am going to go out and see if I can meet some people who actually live here so I know someone and don't spend the entire year alone. I'll be back by one."

Not allowing her Mom to say another word she exited the house slamming the door as she went, she wasn't going to let her parents put a dampener on her evening though, she was going to have fun.

Following the directions his mates had given him Paul groaned when he arrived at a club, he knew he said he was easygoing about where they met up but they knew he wasn't big on clubs so he wasn't sure why they insisted on here. Pushing his way inside the club he immediately grabbed a drink at the bar before he began to look around for them immediately spotting them all at a table not too far from the bar. Setting his beer down he took a seat so he was facing the bar, "a club? Seriously?!"

Laughing they all shook their heads at him, "we just thought it would be good for you to get out and meet some people your own age."

Rolling his eyes he took a sip of his beer, "but yet here I am with you guys who are in a permanent teenage state of mind."

Reaching across the table Shawn pinched Paul's cheek, "aww, we're sorry Paulie . . . we're sorry that you got old so early in your life."

Slapping his friend's hand away he was not impressed, "shut up. Let's just enjoy this night before we all split up and go back to our own lives again."

That was one thing all five of them could agree on so they toasted to that and began talking and catching up.

Chewing on her lip nervously as she stood behind a couple of girls having their ID checked watching as they got then got denied for being under-age she stepped up fully prepared to have to show her ID but all she got was a smile and a wave on into the club. Smiling brightly she nodded at the doorman, "thank you. Have a good evening."

Entering the club she stopped briefly at the edge, it was so full and loud, she had definitely never been anywhere like this in her life but it was a new city, new experiences and she was going to enjoy every single one of them. Walking over to the bar she smiled politely at the bartender, "I'd like a beer please."

Surprised that a beautiful young woman wanted a beer he was taken aback slightly, "beer? Glass or bottle?"

Smiling she nodded her head, "yes beer and bottle please. I find it is the safest drink, there is the less chance of my drink being spiked with a beer bottle."

"Well it is nice to see someone looking out for their own safety. One beer coming up."

Getting her purse out she paid for her drink before she picked up her bottle and turned around leaning against the bar taking in the sight before her.

Ever since she had walked into the club she had caught his eye, he thought for sure she was meeting a friend but most likely a boyfriend judging by how hot she looked but she wasn't looking at her watch at all, she was seemingly happy and content just stood there watching everybody else. Feeling himself drawn to her he excused himself from the table with the excuse of getting another beer and walked up to the bar standing beside her, "I'll take a beer and whatever the beautiful lady is having."

She had spotted him as he walked towards her and she had to try not to check him out as she wasn't here for that. When he stood beside her she paid no attention to him because he wasn't the first to do that and he wouldn't be the last but when she heard him say 'and whatever the beautiful lady is having' she turned her head to look at him briefly wondering if he meant her but quickly dismissed that thought as he wouldn't think somebody like her was beautiful and looked back towards the dance floor wondering how long it would take her to pluck up the courage to go out and dance.

He felt her eyes on him briefly but when she didn't say anything he turned his head towards her, "I was talking about you you know." Using this as an opportunity to shamelessly check her out he continued, "the lady with brown hair and wearing a black dress that shows off her legs and all of her curves topped off with some sexy boots with stud detailing."

Blushing she turned to the side to face him, "were you checking me out?"

There wasn't a chance for Paul to answer as the barman cleared his throat, "do you want a drink or what?"

Biting down on her lip she smiled coyly, "I don't accept drinks from strangers."

Turning to his side to face her he smirked, "my name is Paul, I am twenty four and I am a teacher. There, now you know stuff about me so I am not a stranger. Would you like a drink now?"

Giggling she blushed a little more nodding her head, "I will have the same again please."

Lifting his hand he brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "so can I get your name now or would you prefer to go by 'beautiful lady' all night long?"

"Well as nice as being called 'beautiful lady' would be I think that as you were kind enough to buy me a drink you deserve to know that my name is Stephanie."

As her drink was set on the bar she immediately picked it up and put her thumb over the top covering it so nothing could be slipped into the bottle.

Initially he had thought she was twenty one but watching her with her drink he thought she had to be a lot older but just looked incredibly young, "it's rude for a gentleman to ask a lady her age so I won't do that but I would like to say I admire how smart you are when it comes to your drinks."

Blushing she shrugged her shoulders, "I have a kind of much older brother, he's really protective of me and sat me down as soon as I hit the age to be going to teenage parties and really explained to me that I should watch my drinks, I should never put them down and if I do and I leave it I should never pick it back up again, it is better to lose it than for my family to lose me. What he said is why I drink beer somewhere like this, it's so crowded but I can completely cover the top so nobody can do anything to my drink."

"Your brother is pretty smart. I think personal safety should be taught in schools but that's the teacher in me."

Moving a small step closer to him she smiled, "so what made you want to buy me a drink? So many other people have stood beside me buying their own drink and haven't paid me any attention, not that I was looking for it though."

Turning around so he was facing the club he rested his elbows on the bar, "it's stupid, you don't want to hear it."

Taking a chance she slipped her arm between his arm and his body and linked her fingers with his, "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to hear it."

He liked that she was flirting back with him and taking chances so he gripped her hand that was in his, "you were warned. I saw you walk into the club and I couldn't keep my eyes off of you but I thought a beautiful woman like yourself would have a boyfriend so I thought you were waiting for him or friends but when you didn't seem bothered by the time and weren't looking towards the door I reasoned that you must be alone. It's been a while since I've been to a club but I thought I would take a chance and come and talk to you and I am glad I did."

Moving her lips to his ear she whispered, "I'm glad you did too." Pressing a kiss to his cheek she leant back where she was and took a swig of her beer.

If she was going to play things like that then he was going to up the stakes too and turned to the side facing her keeping hold of her hand using his other hand to turn her head towards him, as soon as she was looking at him he leant closer and kissed her passionately.

Feeling his lips on her was an out of the world experience, all of the boys she had kissed up until this point didn't come anywhere close to matching this kiss. Returning the kiss she cursed the fact that she had a drink in her hand so couldn't use it to hold onto him but she did pull the hand that she was holding behind her back as a hint as she let go of his hand and then slid it behind his neck holding him close as she returned the kiss with equal passion.

Losing breath he reluctantly pulled back a little from the kiss smiling when he heard a little moan of protest escape her lips, "hmm, you taste so good and you are an amazing kisser."

Blushing she couldn't help but bury her face in his neck in embarrassment taking the opportunity to inhale his sweet smelling cologne.

Tickling her lower back with his fingers he smiled, "don't be embarrassed, it's a very good thing to be complimented on how good a kisser you are."

Slowly pulling back from his neck she eventually moved her hand from his neck to holding onto his bicep as she downed half of her drink quickly because she had never been in this position before and she didn't know how to react.

Seeing that she was quite shy and nervous he realised that he was probably coming on too strong for her, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. Shall I leave you alone?"

She didn't even need to think twice about her answer, "no! I like being around you. Can we go and have a dance?"

Nodding his head he smiled at her, she was just too adorable, "we can do whatever you want."

Smiling brightly she put her beer down on the bar and grabbed both of his hands and dragged him onto the dance floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the great feedback to the first chapter :)

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><p>They started dancing quite shyly together but as the songs passed and Stephanie relaxed around him by just focussing on the music she soon found herself grinding back against him as his hands held her hips burning through her dress.<p>

He was trying to be cool and a nice guy but any red blooded male that had a sexy woman grinding their ass against their crotch would react and he definitely felt himself reacting. As the music switched to a ballad he gently turned her around and pulled her close but not too close to him sliding his arms around her waist holding her as they danced.

It had been fun dancing to fast numbers with him but dancing to a slow number with him was even better. Sliding her arms around his neck she kissed him passionately before she rested her head on his chest as they swayed together, she never knew that being around a guy could feel this good mainly because she had never been with a mature guy before.

As the slow song drew to a close Paul knew it was now or never so used this opportunity to whisper in her ear, "I want you."

Stephanie's head quickly lifted from his chest to look at his face with wide eyes as she didn't know what he meant, "you want me to what?"

Not sure exactly how to word this he decided to try and not be too blunt, "please don't slap me for this but I want to sleep with you. We don't have to, I would just like to."

She had only been with one guy before, she didn't want to be a disappointment to him but she wanted him too, "uh . . . I want you too but I'm not experienced, I don't want to be a let down."

Moving his hand from her back to her face he held her chin gently stroking it with his thumb he couldn't stop himself from kissing her again, "you would never be a disappointment to me. We were all inexperienced at one point or another. If you want to . . . you know, we will have to go to yours as I live an hour away and I'm not entirely sure we will last that long as our kisses are getting more passionate and more intense by the second."

Blushing they now had a problem, "I kind of live nearly an hour away too. I guess it was a nice idea so I will apologise for any problems I have caused you."

"I don't suppose you're a doing it in an alley kind of girl are you?" He ended that question with a cheeky smile and another kiss to the lips even though he knew he shouldn't with the predicament they found themselves in currently.

She had never thought about it but if it was their only option she would actually be willing to try it.

Seeing her clearly thinking about it he kissed her again to bring her out of her thoughts before he pulled back from the kiss and leant his forehead on hers, "I was kidding, you're classier than that. I'll be okay though, I would like to talk to you some more though even if this isn't going anywhere tonight."

Chewing on her lip nervously she couldn't believe she was about to suggest this, "I've never done it in a bathroom."

His eyes widened and he pulled her to the edge of the dance floor, "seriously don't suggest stuff just because you want to make me happy, it's not a big deal if we don't have sex,"

It was a new city, a new life and new adventures so shyly looking around she pressed herself against him sliding her hand between them and cupping him through his trousers, "I'm not suggesting something to make you happy."

Sliding his arms around her he wasn't sure about her so he kept one hand on her waist and slid his other hand beneath the back of her skirt trailing it gently up the back of her thigh watching her face for a reaction.

Her eyes closed as she felt his hand on her skin, it felt like he was burning her alive but the more he touched her the more she wanted him. So lost in the touch of his hand and the desire for him pooling in her stomach when he touched the bottom of her ass she hissed, "so close, so far away."

Trailing kisses from the side of her mouth to her ear as he continued touching her ass with his one hand he whispered into her ear huskily, "where would you prefer me to touch you?"

Resisting the urge to squeeze his cock as he drove her crazy she barely whimpered out, "my pussy, so bad."

Moving his hand from the back of her skirt he didn't care at this point that they were in the middle of a club as he slipped his hand up the front of her skirt gently touching her through her panties turned on further by how wet they felt, "is this better?"

Nodding her head she rested her head on his shoulder, "so much better. Fuck, I have never wanted someone so much in my life."

Removing his hand from her skirt he moved his hand and cupped her cheek, "I want you so badly too, as you can feel. I will go to the bathroom and then if you really want to go through with it follow me in about five minutes and I will keep an eye out for you. If you don't follow then I won't hold it against you okay?"

Nodding her head there was no question in her mind about what she would do.

Smiling when she nodded her head he pressed a passionate kiss to her lips before he slowly pulled away and made his way to the bathroom.

Moaning lowly as he pulled away from the kiss she watched him walk away before she walked to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila. She needed some liquid courage before she did because no matter how much she wanted him she had never done this before and wanted to be completely free of her inhibitions.

Walking into the bathroom Paul immediately grabbed some money from his wallet and bought a condom out of the machine on the wall and anxiously watched the time desperate to know what she was going to do.

She knew it hadn't been five minutes but she couldn't wait any longer and made her way towards the bathrooms not even sure where he was going to be.

As a guy exited the bathroom Paul saw Stephanie stood outside so quickly opened the door again and grabbed her arm pulling her into the bathroom and pressed a searing kiss to her lips.

Squealing softly as he pulled her into the bathroom she watched him pull away from her with a clearly anxious expression on her face and she really didn't want to ruin the moment with him. She quickly turned and flipped the lock on the door before she turned to face him reaching behind her and sliding down the zipper on her dress before she grabbed the straps on her shoulders and pulled it down let it pool around her feet.

He was going to question whether she still wanted it but as he watched her take her dress off her he knew she did. Stepping closer to her he lifted his hand with the condom between his fingers, "I'm ready."

Taking the condom from his hand she played with the packet giggling as he easily picked her up off the ground and moved her before he bent down and picked her dress up hanging it over the cubicle before he silently turned back to her backing her against the wall and kissing her as his hands went to her waist holding her there.

Sliding her arms around his neck as he kissed her she enjoyed this moment but soon she needed more and her hands moved between them undoing the buttons on his shirt sliding her hands inside to touch his chest moaning when she felt the muscles.

As she moaned at the touch of his chest he moaned at the touch of her hands and he slipped his tongue into her mouth moving his own hands up to cup her breasts playing with her nipples between his fingers enjoying the way her body was reacting to his touch but he just couldn't wait so he slid his hands down to the waistband of her panties playing with it before he eventually removed them.

Feeling his hands at her panties increased the sense of urgency so as they broke the kiss for air her hands frantically began working on his pants getting frustrated when she couldn't get the button undone.

Moving his hands from her panties to his pants he quickly undid the button allowing her to undo the zip and they quickly fell to the floor followed by his boxers and her hand was soon on his hard length gently stroking it.

Groaning at the touch of her hand he quickly pulled her hand away from him and pulled her panties down removing them from her feet before he stood back up, "got the condom?"

Nodding her head she handed it to him watching as he ripped it open and easily rolling it down his length. Breathing heavily she knew this was it, she was nervous and excited but most of all she needed it more than anything. As he stepped closer to her again she blew out a slow breath before she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close to her, "I need you so badly, please don't make me wait any longer."

He heard her request and he wasn't about to deny it so he gently held her by the hips and lifted her into the air pinning her against the wall as he got himself situated between her legs, "are you sure? Once you say yes I am going to enter you as I need you so badly."

Playing with his hair in the ponytail she nodded her head, "so ready Paul, please."

Taking hold of his length being careful to hold her tightly he slid it into place gently thrusting his hips forward a little sliding it between her lips.

Closing her eyes as she felt him enter her she moaned, "more, give it all to me."

She was only tiny and he didn't want to hurt her so he slowly pushed the rest of his hard length inside of her resting his head on her shoulder as he did so, "fuck you are tight."

Breathing heavily as her body got used to the invasion he was bigger than she had ever had and it was a different angle but it felt so good, "mmm, so big."

Smiling against her neck he gently kissed the skin there sucking softly when he found her sweet spot as he waited for her to relax a little and as soon as she did he began to move his hips thrusting in and out of her.

The feel of his hard cock moving in and out of her was driving her crazy, her head fell back against the wall as she tightly gripped hold of him trying to move her hips against him to get him to go harder and deeper.

When her head fell backwards she pushed her chest out and he eagerly moved his kisses to her breasts alternating between kissing, licking and sucking on her nipples, he wasn't going to last much longer but he desperately needed all of her that he could get.

Feeling her orgasm approaching the movement of her hips became more erratic as she tried to get more of him inside of her and she moved her head to nuzzle his neck kissing and licking the skin there, "so close, give me everything."

Stopping his movements completely he lifted her chin with his hand to look into her eyes, "you can't handle everything."

Her eyes were locked on his and her gaze didn't waiver, "I don't care, give it all to me."

Shrugging his shoulders he held her hips tightly before he focussed his energy on giving her everything as he needed to cum so badly.

On the brink of her orgasm she clawed at his back whispering, "touch me."

Burying his face in the crook of her neck he was struggling to keep control so quickly slid his hand between them seeking out her clit rubbing it roughly a few times until she came which was punctuated by a scream which he quickly silenced with a kiss as he released into the condom with a groan as their hips came to a stop.

Remaining locked together briefly he eventually pulled out of her and placed her back on the floor before he disposed of the condom and began getting dressed again as he didn't want them to get caught.

Her legs were incredibly wobbly after her orgasm, she was having to use the sink to keep herself upright but as she watched him silently getting dressed she realised he had got what he wanted from her and now he was going to be leaving so she forced herself to pick up her panties from where he had thrown them and pull them on before she took her dress down from where he had hung it and pulled it on.

As soon as she was dressed she walked to the door not knowing the proper etiquette in these situations but not wanting to make things awkward, "thank you for tonight, I had an amazing time." Making sure that he was dressed she quickly unlocked the door walking out to be greeted by some guy needing to use the bathroom, "sorry, my boyfriend had thrown up all over the place and I had to clean it up."

Putting her head down she hurried out of the club not in the mood to hang around any longer.

Watching her leave he wondered what the rush was but maybe it was a good thing that she was in a rush as it saved what was clearly a one night stand to her from getting awkward. He didn't really have a chance to dwell on it now though as he had to get back to his friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking back out into the main part of the club Paul made his way back to his friends and took a seat at the table, "so what did I miss?"

The conversations stopped and Kevin smirked, "more like what did we miss? Where the hell have you been for the last like half an hour?"

Shrugging his shoulders he tried to play it off, "I was just talking to someone."

"Talking or _talking_?"

Laughing he rolled his eyes, "you lot haven't changed at all, you are still a bunch of old women who like their gossip. For your information we talked and then we kissed and then we did some more intimate talking."

There were a few slaps on the back to go along with the laughter around the table, "it looks like 'the hunter' is back in business. I thought you had lost the ability to set your sights on someone you want and then to go in for the kill but apparently not, you've still got it. Did you get her number? Will you see her again?"

Shaking his head he really didn't want to think about that, "we agreed it was just a bit of fun to scratch an itch we both had and that was that. Enough about me though, can we just get back to your conversation please."

The conversation returned to what it had been previously and Paul forgot all about Stephanie and enjoyed the rest of his night.

Arriving home from the club Stephanie should have been surprised that the house was dead and there appeared to be nobody home but she wasn't at all, her parent's were doing anything lately for the new business and she never got told anything but she really didn't care anyway as she was still bitter about the move. Walking up to her room she quickly changed into her night clothes before she collapsed into bed and closed her eyes to go to sleep.

The next morning Stephanie woke up with a smile on her face, she could feel the effects of last night throughout her body and it was definitely not a feeling she hated. The morning after the night before feeling was kicking in though only her regret about the night before was not putting herself out there and getting his number as she would definitely like to have had the opportunity to repeat last night over and over again.

Rolling over she picked her phone up from the top and smiled seeing a text from her best friend:

_I hope there are some sexy men in that city to make up for them taking you away from me._

Getting out of bed she decided to send her a quick reply before she jumped in the shower:

_Oh yeah, some of the men are seriously sexy here, especially the one I got up close and personal with last night._

Throwing her phone onto the bed she went to jump into the shower and freshen up before she faced her parents as she didn't want to give any indication of what she had been up to the night before. Once she was showered she threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and brushed her hair before she made her way downstairs laughing at the text she had just received from Kayleigh as she did so.

Entering the kitchen she noticed for the first time that the house was perfectly and as she walked over to the table she saw a note and rolled her eyes knowing what it was going to say before she even read it but she read it anyway.

_Steph,_

_We've gone to the office to put the final touches to things before tomorrow. Feel free to come and join us otherwise we should be home later this afternoon or maybe this evening, just don't get in any trouble._

_Mom and Dad xx_

Balling the note up in her hand she tossed it in the trash before she went to the fridge to find something for breakfast. Her brother Shane was spending his summer off from College having fun and adventures with his friends anywhere in the world he wanted to be and she had been stuck dealing with the move and was now without any friends in an entirely new state and was starting a new school tomorrow.

Pushing the thoughts of her family from her mind she focussed on food and texting Kayleigh about the night before but then she needed to hear a familiar voice so rang Kayleigh to waste away time.

He had gotten in at three am so didn't roll out of bed until lunchtime and when he did eventually roll out of bed he was really glad he hadn't drunk a lot last night because right now he had to finish his lesson plan before school started tomorrow. Walking into the kitchen he made himself a pile of food to last him the entire day before he made his way to the table and took a seat and picked up a pen started flipping through his notebook. Focussing on his lesson plans was a lot harder than it should have been because his mind kept drifting back to the night before and he kept mentally chastising himself for not getting her number because he really wished he could see her again.

When his alarm went off at half past five Paul quickly slammed his fist on it to stop the beeping before he went to shower, he was so glad he taught gym and got to wear track pants and a t-shirt and didn't have to dress up in a suit as they were not his thing at all.

After he had showered, dressed and eaten breakfast he went through his bag making sure he had a change of clothes, some nutritional snacks and most importantly his lessons plans before he headed out the door. He knew who his first lesson was with and he had to admit that he wasn't entirely sure it would be the best start to the year but he was willing to give them a chance.

Six am on Monday morning came way too soon for Stephanie, as she crawled out of bed she padded into the bathroom wishing she was back in Florida with her actual friends in a school she knew rather than facing a brand new school and strangers who will have already formed friendships and cliques and none of which she would probably be welcome in.

Getting dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a baby tee she wasn't sure what exactly the dress code for the school was or how everybody else would be dressed so she was going to keep it low key and hope for the best. Slipping on a pair of sneakers she made sure she had everything she could possibly need for whatever lessons she had before she picked up her cell phone from the side where it had been charging and slipped it into her pocket as she headed downstairs.

Dumping her bag at the bottom of the stairs she walked into the kitchen half expecting there to be a note saying that her parents had already left but much to her surprise they were still there, "morning."

Placing a plate on the table Linda smiled at her daughter, "good morning. Sit down and eat your breakfast please."

Looking at her parents suspiciously as she sat down there was something going on, "what's going on?"

Vince stood up putting his plate in the sink, "well you see we can't actually take you to school today to meet with your Principal with you because we have to go to the office, you will have to give him our apologies."

Rolling here eyes she pushed her plate away suddenly not feeling very hungry and got up from the table, "thanks for nothing. It's always nice to know how supportive of me you are."

Storming out of the kitchen she picked up her bag and her keys before she exited the house slamming the front door hard behind her as she left.

Vince looked at his wife with a small smile no his face, "well that went well."

Picking up the plate of uneaten food from the table Linda threw it in the trash, "it went a lot better than I expected it to, she is really growing up and maturing into a wonderful young woman. We need to get going though, we should have already left."

"Yes dear, I know. I just need to grab my briefcase and those papers from the study and we can leave."

Linda finished tidying up the kitchen whilst Vince went to get his briefcase.

Stephanie knew she would be really early if she went straight to school now so she just walked around a little exploring the area. She was so glad she had printed herself off a map on how to get home from school so she knew how to get there but she was also able to mark on that map where certain things were as she explored.

Arriving at school she slowly made her way through the gates to find the entrance. Walking towards what was labelled as 'Reception' she felt even more alone as she looked at all of the people around her paired up or in groups looking so friendly and together and she was just alone but hopefully after today she would know **somebody** so she didn't have to spend the entire year alone.

Fifteen minutes after entering the school she found herself sat in the Principal's office, she didn't really get why she had to meet with him or her or whoever it was but it was what was on the letter so this is where she was.

Fiddling with her bag she jumped when the door was pushed open behind her and an older gentleman walked in, "Miss McMahon?"

Twisting in her seat just to watch him she took in his appearance trying to guess his age from his appearance, "that's me."

Sitting down he looked at her expectantly, "are your parents joining us?"

Sighing heavily she slumped in her seat, "no. The office is opening today and they felt it was more important to be there than to be here and the only other responsible adult in my life is currently in Mexico so it's just me. If you want to see my parents you will probably have to make an appointment, like I will."

Sensing the bitterness he knew when not to push a subject, "it's not a problem Miss McMahon, I just thought it would have been nice to meet with your parents aswell but I am more than happy just to meet with yourself. My name is Principal Richards and I like to introduce myself to new student transfers, especially ones who join so late in their school life. My door is always open and if my students have any problems, school or personal, I like them to know that I am here for them. If it doesn't sound too creepy I like to see myself as a second Father to them all or a favourite Uncle, whatever suits you better."

Laughing she smiled, "I like that. My last Principal was so far removed from the students that they wouldn't have been able to pick him out in a line up. I'm not in any trouble before I begin am I?"

Shaking his head he smiled brightly, "no no, of course not. I must say I looked at your record and I am impressed with your work, you have a mostly always 4.0 GPA and you seem to be a model student." Taking a piece of paper out from the file he slid it across the desk to her, "this is your schedule for the year, unfortunately you will find you have gym first period but Mr Levesque the gym teacher is very nice and I am sure he will make you feel welcome. If you have no questions you can be getting on your way to class as it has just begun."

Picking the schedule up from the desk she scanned over it, "you've got to love gym first thing on a Monday morning. My only question would be where do I find the gym please?"

Getting up from his seat at his desk he walked around it and opened the door for her, "take a left until you get to the end of the corridor and then go out through the double doors and go to the right and you shouldn't be able to miss it. Good luck and if there are any problems you know where I am."

Smiling and nodding her head she adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she followed his directions to get this over with.

Paul groaned when he heard all of the girls mumbling their unhappiness at having gym first thing on Monday morning. Walking out of his office he leant on the wall, "girls girls girls. I am not exactly thrilled at having to listen to your bitching to begin my Monday **and** my school year so how about your stop the talking and get to changing so we can all get this over with."

Relieved when they went to change he went to get the equipment out whilst he waited for them to change and join him.

As soon as everybody was stood in front of him he decided to start the year with an explanation, "you know how this whole thing plays out so I don't need to explain to you what I expect of you other than to say no talking is still my number one rule. This year we are going to start off with a bit of basketball so no elbows, no kicking and no throwing the ball at anybody's face or you will be transferred to the boys group, just saying."

Walking the short distance to the gym avoiding the catcalls from the boys she pulled open the door to the gym and stepped inside the gym chewing on her bottom lip nervously when she saw all of the girls turn to stare at her.

Hearing the door open behind him he figured it was the boys teacher looking for something so ignored it but when the girls all focussed their attention to whoever had walked in the door he realised it wasn't the teacher. As he turned around to look at them he said, "what can I do for . . ." Trailing off when he came face to face with the woman from Saturday night he had no idea what was going on so finished his thought, " . . . you?"

As the teacher turned around to face her she was sure she wasn't able to mask the shock on her face when she saw who it was, what exactly were the chances of her one night stand from the club being her gym teacher? Realising he had asked a question and she hadn't answered she just stuttered, "Mr . . uh . . . Levesque?"

Nodding his head he still couldn't work out what was going on, "yes. And you are? I am trying to teach a lesson here so is it important?"

Motioning awkwardly towards the door she said, "umm sorry I am late but Principal Richards kept me talking in his office as he gave me my schedule."

His eyes widened so far he was sure they were going to fall out of his head, "you're a student here?"

Nodding she needed this torture to be over, "yes, I just transferred here."

Blinking a few times he absently said, "go and change and join us. Stick around afterwards so I can explain everything you have missed to you but for now I need you to change and join us and hurry up about it please."

Desperate to get out of there she quickly turned and blindly headed in the direction of what appeared to be the changing room.

Standing there staring at her as she walked away his life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.


	4. Chapter 4

She needed some time to wrap her head around the fact that the guy she had slept with at the club was her new gym teacher but the last thing she needed was to get into trouble so she couldn't take that time and had to just quickly change before she headed out into the gym joining up with the group that waved at her.

All of the other girls were curious about who this new girl was and they were also amused at her reaction to seeing the teacher. As soon as she joined them they began questioning her, "you were really shocked to see Mr Levesque weren't you?"

Nodding her head she stretched like they were doing, "well yeah. In my last school it was male teachers taught the boys and female teachers taught the girls in gym so seeing a man teacher is weird. My name is Stephanie by the way."

The girl who had taken the lead smiled, "nice to meet you, I am Annabelle but everyone calls me Belle. Starting last year they trialled something to bring up participation or something and switched the teachers out so the male teaches the girls and the female teaches the boys and we were lucky enough to get a hunk. You'll really like him, he is super cool and friendly and really good to look at."

Seeing the group that Stephanie had joined more interested in talking than stretching Paul walked over to them, "come on girls, I don't have all day to wait for you to get all of the gossip, that is what your breaks and free periods are for. Less talking and more stretching or you will all just have to come back at lunch to do the work you didn't do now."

Watching Stephanie stretch he saw that she was going to do more harm than good so he stepped close to her and gripped her waist, "stop it. If you keep doing it like that you will eventually pull or tear something so let me show you how to do it." Taking a hands on approach with her was just putting an extra bullet in an already loaded gun but he couldn't stand back and allow her to get hurt so he showed her how to do it ignoring the memories that flashed into his mind of the last time he touched her body, "do you see why that is better?"

Trying not to blush at the touch of his hands on her body and how she wished they were alone so he could keep his hands on her she nodded her head, "it feels so much better like that . . . Sir?"

Stepping away from her he chuckled, "I hate Sir, it makes me feel old. Everybody calls me Mr Levesque so please feel free to drop the 's' word and call me that instead."

Moving away from the girls he grabbed a ball and started bouncing it on the floor, "first team to agree on a Captain and positions get to pick which end you start shooting at and if you manage it in less than one minute you get a free three point shot."

Huddling together Stephanie's group quickly agreed on a Captain and positions so Belle raised her arm, "we're done."

Looking at his watch in surprise he couldn't believe it, "you were the slowest group to warm up because you were gossiping but the fastest to decide on a Captain and positions for your players? Well there is a first time for everything. Who is going to take this free shot then?"

Pushing Stephanie forward they thought it would be hilarious to get the new girl to make an idiot of herself with the three point throw attempt, "Stephanie will."

Looking back at her team alarmed she knew she agreed to attack but this was something else, "thanks girls."

Seeing the panic on her face Paul bounced the ball to her, "have you ever played basketball before?"

Shaking her head she held the ball in her arms, "not in a game, I've shot a few hoops as fun but nothing more."

Walking backwards to the semi-circle he motioned everyone forward, "gather around here and let me use Stephanie here to give you all some pointers on the correct way to score a three pointer."

Once everybody was in position he stood behind Stephanie, "the most important thing you need to score a three pointer is confidence, visualise the ball going into the net and you will be surprised how much it does for you. Second of all you need to hold the ball correctly, a little something like this."

Stephanie just stood there unable to move as he seemed to use every opportunity to touch her and she allowed him to manipulate her hands before she felt him directly behind her so she tried to ignore how close he was and just imagine the ball going into the net as she listened to him say she needed to bend her knees and really push off to propel the ball into the net. Bending her knees she focussed and pushed off watching the ball fly through the air and hitting the hoop and going around and around the hoop until it dropped through the net causing her team mates to jump up and down with excitement. Spinning around she came almost face to face with Paul, "thank you."

Smiling he raised his hand to give her a high five, "you're welcome, you did all of the work. Now let's get this game started"

High fiving him she ran off to join her team really happy the way they were treating her now, she hoped it was something to gain her a few friends.

The lesson finished and all of the girls ran off to change whilst Paul put away the equipment he had brought out for the lesson and then waited for Stephanie.

Quickly changing Stephanie properly looked at her schedule trying to figure out when her free periods were today as she needed to speak with Paul at his request.

Belle put her clothes in her bag and then walked over to Stephanie, "what have you got next?"

Tracking her schedule with her finger she frowned, "uh, English with a Mrs Romano?"

"Yes it is Mrs Romano, I have her next too so I can show you where the class is."

Smiling softly she stuffed the rest of her stuff into her bag before she put the strap over her shoulder ready to leave, "I just have to tell Mr Levesque when my free is and see if that's okay for me to come back."

Nodding her head Belle linked her arm through Stephanie's, "come on, we don't want to be late."

Exiting the locker room they headed towards the exit stopping when Mr Levesque called Stephanie. Walking over to him Belle removed her arm from Stephanie's, "I'll wait outside for you."

Smiling at her new friend as she left she turned to look at him nervously, "I swear we were going to stop to talk to you, I wasn't going to skip out. I have a free next period if that's any good for you to explain things?"

Watching as people left he nodded his head in acknowledgement as they waved at him, "the sooner we talk the better."

"Okay sure. I'll be back as soon as this period is over. I've got to go as Belle is showing me where the class is."

Walking out of the gym she linked arms with Belle again as she showed her where to find the English classroom.

English was over and now Stephanie had to go back to the gym to talk to Paul so saying goodbye to Belle and promising to meet up for lunch she headed back to the gym to face him. She was really struggling with the whole him being her teacher thing, she knew she had practically prayed that she would meet him again but this was not what she had in mind.

After finishing his second period Paul sat down in his office to do some paperwork whilst he waited for Stephanie, he wouldn't have imagined that he would have any but sadly he did. When he heard a knock at the door he lifted his head and was relieved to see Stephanie, "come in, shut the door and sit down please."

Walking inside she gulped when he told her to shut the door, she almost felt like she was in trouble, "I'm sorry I was late this morning but the Principal kept me talking."

Shaking his head he motioned to the chair in front of his desk, "you're not in trouble, I just don't want this conversation being overheard."

Frowning she put her bag on the floor before she took a seat chewing on her lip nervously, "why?"

He was going to talk to her about what she had missed in class but when he had seen her in front of him those thoughts immediately left his mind and thoughts from Saturday entered so he knew he had to tackle those first. Setting his pen down he tried to get comfortable in his seat, "because I don't need anybody knowing that I slept with one of my students. Why didn't you tell me you were only seventeen?"

The way he approached it she felt that he regretted their night and it felt like a punch to the gut, "you didn't ask so I didn't divulge it. I'm not going to tell anybody what happened on Saturday night, it is none of their business. Anyway, I wasn't your student when we slept together so what does it matter?"

"They won't care if you were then or just now, I would lose everything."

Getting up from her seat she walked around the desk to beside him, "I'm not going to make you lose everything. Saturday night was the most amazing night and ever since I have beat myself up over the fact that I wasn't brave enough to ask for your number but I had never done that before so didn't know the etiquette."

Turning his seat around to look at her he gulped as she got closer to him, "please go back around the desk."

Standing still she stared at him oddly, "why? What's wrong?"

"Just please go and sit back down around the other side of the desk."

Seeing the panic on his face she was hopeful that she wasn't jumping to the wrong conclusion, "are you afraid of me being close to you?"

Realising that she had an idea he sighed, "pretty much yes. Ever since you walked out of that bathroom on Saturday night I have been wishing that I had stopped you and at least asked for your number. Then you turn up here as my student and I don't know what to think or how to react because all I can think of is how good we were together and how much I want to touch you."

"Then touch me. The door is closed and nobody will see us and trust me, I won't complain because I want you to touch me."

He reached out to touch her but quickly pulled his hand back when his brain kicked in, "I can't. As much as I enjoyed Saturday and would absolutely love to repeat it I can't. I am your teacher now and I have to think about my job and your future and I don't want to destroy your future and make you the girl who was taken advantage of by her teacher for the rest of your life."

Getting on her knees in front of him she grabbed hold of his hands, "you won't be taking advantage of me, this is everything I want. Please?"

Seeing her on her knees in front of him begging made it so hard for him to say no but he had to, "we can't. Stephanie please don't make this difficult."

She knew she wasn't going to change his mind so slowly nodded her head, "I guess if that is your final word on it there is not going to be anything I can do to change your mind."

"It is, it has to be." Taking a deep breath he decided to move things back to school, "this morning when you were with the Principal you missed me telling the girls what is planned for the year and that I expect you to all play clean and fair and if you don't play clean then I will have you swapped to have your lessons with the boys. That is about all you missed out on."

Nodding her head she got up from her place on the floor, "I understand. I will be good and I promise I won't tell anybody about Saturday. I'd better go and let you go back to your work."

As he watched her get up from the floor and walk back to her back on the other side of the desk preparing to leave he couldn't help himself and got up from his seat at his desk, "hang on."

Stopping where she was with her bag hanging from her hand she turned around to face him, "what did you forget?"

Not uttering a single word as he approached her he wrapped his hand behind her neck holding her head there as he crushed his lips against hers, he just needed one more kiss.

Moaning in surprise as he kissed her she quickly dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around his neck eagerly returning the kiss that had come out of nowhere.

Slowly pulling away from the kiss he rested his forehead on hers and whispered, "I'm sorry, I just needed to share one more kiss with you. Now we really really should just keep it to a teacher/student relationship."

Slowly pulling away from him she picked her bag back up, "if we are going to keep things strictly professional then I need to leave. I will see you in the next class Mr Levesque."

Quickly heading for the door she left before she just made a complete fool of herself in front of him.

Watching her as she left he went and collapsed into his chair, what had he just done? He wasn't sure what the more stupid move was, kissing her or telling her that they had to keep it professional. Either way it was done now and he had to live with his decisions.


	5. Chapter 5

Walking out of the gym Stephanie's mind was entirely on her conversation with Paul and what he had said about them not being able to be together and how he had then kissed her, she was so confused. So lost in her own little world she didn't see Belle outside the gym waiting for her until she tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped letting out a little scream in fright.

Belle was bored as everybody was either in class or had left school grounds for whatever reason so she decided to wait outside the gym for Stephanie. She was relieved when she saw her exit as she had loads of time to get to know her better so she called her name and when she didn't answer she raced after her and put her hand on her shoulder immediately feeling guilty when she screamed, "I'm sorry, I called your name but you didn't answer."

Sighing as she turned around she felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest, "I'm sorry, my mind was otherwise occupied so I wasn't thinking about what was happening around me. So why were you waiting for me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't do anything at all. I was alone and I just figured that we could get to know each other better as your meeting with Mr Levesque wouldn't take long. We don't have to hang out if you don't want?"

Shaking her head hanging out with Belle was exactly what she needed right now, "I'd love to get to know you more so let's go and get a drink and play twenty questions."

Laughing she grabbed hold of Stephanie's arm and led her to the cafeteria to get a drink.

Sat on a bench outside with their sodas Belle was curious, "so I need to ask about this meeting with Mr Levesque. What did he say that got you so distracted when you left?"

Not really knowing how to respond without giving anything away she stayed silent for a brief moment and thought of the best way to word it, "he explained about the gym classes being separate and that if the girls got rough he would send them out with the boys and then he was saying that if I had any problems his door was always open and I could talk to him." Okay so half of that was true but she thought it would make sense.

"He offered for you to talk to him if you needed it?"

He didn't but she couldn't back out now, "I think he felt bad because I am a new student starting senior year here and it can all be quite overwhelming especially as I knew nobody before I met you."

Turning to face her Belle felt bad, "you seriously knew nobody?"

Nodding her head it made her sound so pathetic, "I have only lived here about two weeks and most of that time was spent unpacking boxes at home or helping my parents set up their new office so I haven't had time to go out and try and meet people, hell I haven't even had time to go and explore the city."

Shaking her head that just wouldn't do for Belle, "not good enough at all. After school today I will take you out and show you around, unless you have to get back home."

Stephanie laughed, "to an empty house? Definitely not. If you aren't busy I would love to."

Belle smile brightly, "deal. So why don't you tell me some stuff about yourself and I will tell you about me so we can get to know each other better?"

The two of them spend the next half an hour getting to know each other a lot better and swapping numbers. Stephanie genuinely didn't think she would find a friend but she was so glad that she had as this situation with Paul was going to result in her needing one.

As soon as Stephanie had left his office Paul got up and shut his office door before he walked back to his desk and sat down and put his head in his hands, "stupid stupid stupid. You're supposed to be the adult and you act like a horny teenager."

He felt so stupid for what he did just then but he felt stupider for not asking her age on Saturday, he knew she looked young and he should have asked but he couldn't go back and change it so he had to hope that she stuck to her word not to tell anybody about it.

Lifting his head from his desk he had to get back to his work and ignore her, he only had to teach her twice a week and that wouldn't be hard at all, what was the worst that she could do to him for two hours a week?

After the school day ended Stephanie got into Belle's car with her and stared out of the window as she drove her around town pointing out the sights, "I could really use some new clothes so what do you think is the best stores to shop in around here?"

Belle's eyes widened with excitement as clothes were her passion and she planned to become a stylist once she finished school, "I know this fabulous little boutique that would be just perfect for you. Shall I show you it now?"

Shrugging her shoulders now was as good a time as any for her, "now is perfect, let's go."

Taking a side street she eventually reached the boutique and stopped the car outside, "come on, let's go inside and let me show you around. I don't suppose you would let me pick out some clothes for you to try on would you please? I want to be a stylist and I want to get in as much practise as possible."

What was the worst that could happen? She would hate the outfits and politely tell her so and if it went well she might find some clothes she wouldn't have normally looked at, "sure, but only if you promise that you won't get offended if I don't like some of it. I'm quite particular with what I wear as my parents can be quite strict."

Clapping her hands excitedly this was perfect, "yes yes, thank you Stephanie, I promise you won't regret it."

Chuckling Stephanie opened the car door and got out, this should be interesting and she was excited to go shopping getting in some retail therapy to make herself feel better about everything.

Walking into the store Stephanie was immediately excited, this was exactly the kind of stuff she liked and was so excited to get to look around and really make her credit card take a hit.

As soon as she entered the store Belle knew exactly where to go and what she was looking for and immediately picked up a stack of clothes, "I'm ready when you are Steph."

Having picked up some items of her own she walked over to the changing rooms as Belle sorted it into outfits, "I will give you one outfit at a time."

Nodding her head Stephanie just agreed and stepped into the changing room and started trying on the first outfit.

It was the third outfit she had tried on and as she stepped out of the changing room to look at the mirror she saw the way Belle was looking at her, "what?"

"You look amazing, that outfit is absolutely perfect for you even if I do say that myself."

Chewing on her lip nervously she slowly walked to the mirror and when she looked at herself she was amazed at the reflection she saw back at her, "is this really me?"

Walking over to her Belle adjusted the top slightly so it fitted better, "yes it is you. Do you like it?"

Doing a little twirl in front of the mirror she couldn't believe the way that she looked in this outfit, she looked and felt beautiful. She loved the skirt, it was short but not short enough that her parents would throw a fit and the top was just beautiful.

As she looked at herself in the mirror she couldn't help but think about how Paul would react when he saw her in this. She knew that he had told her that nothing could happen between the two of them because he didn't want to lose his job but she wasn't ready or willing to give up on him that easily, she was going to fight for what she wanted.

Turning to look at her new friend she nodded her head, "I am definitely taking this outfit. Let's move on to the next one."

Clapping her hands Belle was so excited that she like the outfit, "I'm so happy right now."

Smiling Stephanie went back into the changing room to switch outfits.

Half an hour later and Stephanie was just finishing paying for her new clothes before she put her card away and picked up the bags, "these are just what my closet needed. Thank you Belle, you will make a fabulous stylist."

Shrugging her shoulders it was good practise and it made her feel good to actually pick out outfits that somebody loved, "my pleasure. I'd better head home before my parents kill me but I will drop you home first if you want?"

Considering she had no idea where she was Stephanie nodded her head, "yes please, I wouldn't know where to go to get home from here."

"You really need to get out and about in a car, as long as you have a license, and just explore the city, you will soon find your way around."

As she dropped her bags in the back seat she said, "I have a license and a car but it is in the garage right now having a service or something but as soon as I get it back I will do that now I am apparently free to do as I please."

Pulling up outside of Stephanie's house Belle whistled lowly, "damn, your parents are loaded."

Shrugging her shoulders money really wasn't a big deal to Stephanie, she just wanted them to give a damn about her, "I guess, it's not a bit deal to me so I really couldn't give a damn about how much money my parents do or don't have. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

Reaching across Belle hugged Stephanie, "yes you will. Hopefully tomorrow you can get properly introduced to the rest of the girls, today has been a bit crazy with it being the first day of school and all but tomorrow we're all having lunch together so I'd love it if you'd join us."

She had no other friends to hang out with so it was a no brainer, "I would love to. See you tomorrow."

Climbing out of the car she grabbed all of her bags from the back seat and headed to the front door waving once more to Belle once it was unlocked before she entered and shut the door behind her.

Making her way up the stairs because she knew she was home alone and would be for at least another hour or maybe more she walked into her bedroom and dropped the shopping bags on the bed before she threw her school bag next to her desk and emptied out her clothes onto the bed to cut off all of the tags, "when you see me in these you will have no chance Paul, you will see exactly what you are missing out on and will come after what you want."

As soon as she had removed all of the tags she put them all in the laundry to be washed before she sat at her desk to do her homework whilst she waited for her parents to come home but before she actually began her homework she sent her very best friend a text:

_I met the guy from Saturday again. I thought he was sexy in the club but he is so much better looking in daylight than he was there._

Smiling to herself as she thought about him she put her phone down on the desk and began working.


	6. Chapter 6

For Stephanie it had been three nights of meals for one in front of the television as her parents hadn't arrived home from work until late in the evening. Quite frankly Stephanie was bored of the meals and of always eating alone but right now she didn't have the inclination to cook something from scratch as she was trying to get into a rhythm with school work.

She had just finished eating and was taking her plate to the kitchen when the front door opened and her parent's walked in, "wow, this is the earliest you have been all week."

"Don't get smart with me young lady, we can always leave again."

Rolling her eyes Stephanie just walked into the kitchen and put her plate in the dishwasher before she walked out again, "I should go and finish my homework."

Watching her daughter as she headed for the stairs she called after her, "hold on a second Stephanie."

Stopping a couple of stairs up she turned to look at her Mom, "what did I do?"

Pulling a note from her purse she held it out to her, "I transferred you to a Dentist up here and they want you to go in for a check up and a cleaning so I have made the appointment for tomorrow morning. You may aswell just go into school after your appointment."

Taking the note from her Mom she shook her head, "thanks for the advanced warning, it's really nice of you."

Frustrated Stephanie just went up to her room and shut the door firmly behind her not believing the nerve of her Mom to make her an appointment and just to force it on her. Looking at the time of the appointment she frowned, if they ran late she may miss gym class with Paul and she lived for those classes now.

The next morning Stephanie got up late and she knew her parents were already gone and she also knew they wouldn't be home until after she was home so it gave her an opportunity to wear something she wanted to wear without getting the third degree from her parents. Showering she washed her hair before she walked into her room wrapped in a towel and went straight for her closet, she had the perfect outfit in mind and Paul was going to love it.

A couple of hours later and Stephanie was rushing across the school grounds to get to the gym before class started, she really didn't want to miss a second of class if she could get away with it. Looking at her watch she should make it just in time.

Pulling open the door she breezed into the gym relieved when she saw that the girls stood in front of her hadn't changed yet, "sorry I'm late."

Turning to face her Belle was so relieved, "oh my God, we were just talking about you. Where have you been?"

Sighing heavily she rolled her eyes, "the Dentist. My Mom sprung the appointment on me last night because that is what parents do apparently."

"Why didn't you text me and tell me? I was going to come by your house at lunch because I was worried about you."

Blushing she completely forgot that she had Belle's number, "oops, I forgot I had your number."

Playfully rolling her eyes she shook her head, "so you're looking hot today, can we get a twirl?"

Giggling Stephanie did a twirl on the spot showing off her short skirt and her tank top that read 'I know you're staring at me', "thank you for the compliment."

Paul had heard the commotion as he set up so moved to the entrance and immediately his eyes were drawn to Stephanie and he couldn't take them off her, she looked amazing and he was really wondering how he was going to survive the year if she looked like this every day. Shaking his head he needed to get it back in the moment, "girls, less chatting and more changing please."

Stephanie jumped at the sound of his voice but quickly followed the rest of the girls into the changing room to get ready for the lesson.

Having changed her outfit she was sat on the bench putting her sneakers on when one of the girls behind her said, "did you see the way Mr Levesque was looking at you?"

A little hurt that he was looking at somebody else so soon after he had told her that they couldn't be anything meant that she clearly wasn't special, "oooh, does he have the hots for you Belle?"

Slightly alarmed at the idea Belle's eyes widened, "what?! No, he wasn't looking at me, he was looking at you. I so think Mr Levesque has the hots for you, he was totally looking you up and down."

Rolling her eyes as she finished tying her shoes up she just couldn't with the crazy theories, he was the one who had said they could be nothing so they had to be imagining it, "yeah sure he was. I highly doubt Mr Levesque would go for a school kid when he could have a grown adult."

"Oh come on Steph, you can't tell us if he didn't offer himself to you you wouldn't take him."

Shaking her head she had promised that she would keep what had happened between them quiet so she wasn't even going to dignify that with an answer, "we need to get a move on before he makes us stay through lunch."

Taking a deep breath she walked out of the changing room and plastered a smile on her face to hopefully cover for the fact that she was starting to doubt herself and his words to her. She knew that she was not going to play all that fair to try and make him see the error of his ways but she honestly didn't expect the truth to be that he didn't mean the words that he said. Sure she should have had a clue when he kissed her but it didn't necessarily have had to mean something but maybe it did?

She hadn't realised that she had just been stood there until Belle tapped her on the shoulder, "we were only teasing, I'm sure he doesn't really have the hots for you, I mean he is a teacher after all."

Silently she walked out of the changing rooms and into the gym almost crashing into Paul as he walked towards the door to hurry them up, "sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Instinctively putting his hands on her arms to steady her as she stopped suddenly he quickly let go of her and stepped back like she was on fire when he saw the girls behind her, "I was just coming to look for you to make sure there wasn't a black hole in the changing rooms that had swallowed you all up."

The girls laughed, "and that is why you are our favourite teacher Mr Levesque."

Pretending to blush and act all coy and shy like a teenage girl did he looked down at the floor, "aww shucks, you make me feel so special." Lifting his head he went back into full teacher mode, "now get in there and start stretching, I want to work on some skills."

Turning around and smirking at her teacher one of the girls said, "I'd like to work on some skills with you too Mr Levesque."

Right now Stephanie was so ashamed to be the same age as these people, she just couldn't believe the immaturity of them as she hung her head.

Paul couldn't help but turn his gaze to Stephanie and as he did he noticed how embarrassed she seemed. He was driving himself crazy by letting his attention be drawn to her all of the time so he did the only thing he could think of doing, "if you can all go the entire lesson without speaking, unless it is a question pertaining to what I am showing you, then I may just let you out early."

Stephanie just put her head down and started stretching, her head was a jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings and none of it was going to get sorted whilst she was here in this class with him.

Having spent the rest of the day either being teased about Mr Levesque having a crush on her or her thoughts simply being plagued by everything about him when it came time for school to end she didn't want to go home alone, she didn't want to hang out with girls her age, she just wanted to be held by the one man she knew would be there for her.

Rushing through the building she made her way to his office bursting through the door not caring if he was with anyone or in a meeting.

As the door burst open he jumped and seeing her practically running into the room he stood up from his seat, "Stephanie?"

Running across the room she ran straight into his arms, "Daddy!"

Hugging his daughter tightly he did wonder what was going on with her lately, these past few days she had been so unpredictable but for now he did the one thing she seemed desperate to have and that was to hold her tightly.

After a couple of minutes she pulled back and blushed, "sorry."

Placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders he held her there, "no need to be sorry. What is going on? Is everything okay? You haven't been yourself for a few days and I am worried about you, I know we haven't been around a lot but it is enough for me to notice"

Shrugging her shoulders she sighed, "I'm fine I guess, it's just really hard to adjust here and I just am struggling to deal with it all. I'm sorry for interrupting your work, I really shouldn't have."

Shaking his head Vince gripped his daughter's chin and made her look at him, "never, and I repeat **never** apologise for coming to me when you need me. No matter what I am **always** here for you, I will put everything aside for you and your brother because you are my children and you are everything to me. I know I haven't been the best Father recently but as soon as things calm down I promise I will be around more. To make it up to you though tonight your Mother and I will be home early and we will eat dinner as a family but we will have your favourite take out rather than cooking. Does this sound good?"

Nodding her head it sounded perfect, she just wanted to spend some time with them, "yes Daddy, it sounds perfect. Can we have Chinese please?"

Chuckling he nodded his head, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Your Mom and I will pick it up on our way home if you're leaving soon or now or we can all pick it up when we leave."

Looking at her watch she decided to go home and talk to her best friend to get things off her mind, "no it's okay Dad, I will let you get back to your work and I will go home and talk to Kayleigh before I do my homework."

Kissing his daughter on the cheek he took a step back, "okay then. We will be home about half past six at the latest."

Smiling softly she hugged her Dad again quickly, "thank you Daddy."

Turning around she headed out of his office to go home.

As soon as his daughter had left his office he sat down and got right back to his work because he had a reason to finish his work and just go home and spend some time with his family.

Arriving home Stephanie threw her bag at the bottom of the stairs before she went and collapsed on the couch and put her feet up calling Kayleigh.

Kayleigh was desperately trying to focus on her homework but everything that wasn't her homework was distracting her so so far she hadn't achieved more than writing a couple of lines. When her cell phone began ringing she couldn't have been more excited, especially when she saw her best friend's name, "hey Steph."

Plastering on a smile she hoped it came through in her voice, "hi Leigh."

Moving away from her desk Kayleigh got up and looked out of her window, "what's wrong? You don't sound right."

Sighing Stephanie didn't know what to say, "truthfully? I'm just having a hard time right now. Sure I have made a few friends in school but . . . it's just not the same without you Leigh Leigh."

She couldn't help but smile a little when she used her nickname as she rarely got to hear it these days but it still concerned her, "cheer up, we will see each other soon. What about this guy you hooked up with? Why don't you try and search him out?"

That was one topic she didn't even know how to discuss with her, "I can't talk about him over the phone."

"Steph? Have you seen him properly since?"

Chewing on her perfectly manicured nails she felt like she was going to throw up, "yes but I can't talk about it on the phone or in an e-mail or a letter or in any form of traceable communication okay?"

Now Kayleigh was nervous, "is he a murderer or something?"

"No but today I really wish he was. My heart is hurting, my head feels like it is about to explode and I feel like I am all alone on an island with no body and no thing for company."

Her best friend was normally so confident and outgoing and for her to be so quiet and withdrawn made Kayleigh concerned for her, "I am always here for you. I know I apparently can't listen to you talk about this guy at the minute but I am here for everything else no matter what the time is. At the end of the day if things are meant to be with this guy then they just will be because either he will make a move on you or maybe you will just have to make a move on him. Promise me you will go and take a bath, relax and try and cheer up now though please? I hate to hear you so sad."

As she listened to her best friend talk she realised she was right, she needed to have a nice hot bath and just relax, everything would be better after she took some time for herself to relax, "you're right, I just need to relax in the bath and everything will be better then."

Smiling brightly Kayleigh was happy to help, "yes you do. You go and have your bath, I will get on with my stupid homework and then we can talk again later okay?"

"Deal. Love you Leigh Leigh, you're the bestest."

Chuckling she moved back to her desk, "so are you. It is what best friends are for though. We'll talk later though, bye."

Stephanie was already off the couch and heading for the stairs, "bye."

Hanging up the phone she made her way to the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of bubbles before she headed back to her bedroom to get her iPod and speakers to just relax.


End file.
